Such Fragile Broken Things
by the-universe-and-u
Summary: Callie hadn't been oblivious to Arizona's emotional state over the past week; her obvious exhaustion, or the way her determinedly reassuring smiles were always laced with poorly disguised terror. Post-7x18


A/N: _Hey, guys! Just a semi-quick oneshot of a Callie/Arizona conversation/moment I'd like to see in 7x19. Take place a week after "A Song Beneath the Song". Nothing much you need to know. I'd love to hear what you think, so review away!_

_Such Fragile Broken Things_

"Sofia Claire Torres."

Arizona's lips curved into a smile at the reverent tone in her girlfriend's (_fiancee_'s) voice as she repeated the full name of their daughter, unconsciously tracing her finger over the name on the birth certificate application.

"Sofia," Arizona repeated, leaning her elbow on Callie's hospital bed, reaching out and threading her fingers through Callie's. "It's good to see you smile," she whispered softly.

This morning, Callie had been deemed strong enough to visit the NICU for the first time. After the past week of tears, frustration and pain, finally meeting her tiny daughter had been the most positive step in her recovery yet.

"It _feels_ good," Callie admitted, turning the smile toward Arizona. "You're really good with the name?"

"I love it," Arizona reassured her honestly. "You were totally right; it suits her."

Over the past week, their daughter had remained simply "Baby Girl Torres", as Callie had taken to insisting that she couldn't possibly name her until she was able to see the infant.

Mark and Arizona had both suspected it was all part of Callie's unending quest to convince everyone she should be allowed in the NICU. But, having to deny her that, neither had the heart to argue with anything else she said.

So Sofia spent the first week of her life nameless, until that morning, when her mother declared the name after a few hours of sitting in awe by the NICU incubator. And again, neither of her other parents had any inclination to argue.

With her free hand, Arizona tapped a finger against the form in Callie's hand. "You want me to take this?"

"Not yet, Mark has to sign," Callie muttered absently, not considering the implications of her statement until she felt Arizona's hand stiffen almost imperceptibly in her own.

Suppressing a wince, Callie lifted her gaze to find Arizona's eyes lowered. "Hey…" She waited until the blonde met her gaze. "You know it doesn't matter, right? I mean…you _saved_ her life, Arizona." Callie squeezed her hand, throat tightening. "You are just as much the reason she's here as Mark and I." Gratitude shone in Arizona's eyes for a moment, but she stayed silent as Callie continued, "You're her mom. And it doesn't _matter_ that your name isn't on this."

To Callie's surprise, Arizona's smile faded quickly, her face tightening as she murmured, "Sure, _now_."

Arizona flushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth, inwardly scolding herself. Callie didn't need this now.

"What does that mean?" Callie asked her, genuinely confused.

"Sorry, it…doesn't matter."

"_Arizona_." It WAS almost nice to hear that voice again, Callie's no nonsense, 'you-can't-fool-me-with-this' voice. In the next beat, though, the suddenly tender concern in Callie's voice cut Arizona right to the quick. "Talk to me, tell me what's going on."

Arizona immediately fixed her eyes firmly on the hospital sheets, and Callie's chest constricted as she observed several telltale signs of her fiancée fighting an imminent breakdown. Arizona's jaw was tight, working furiously as she ground her teeth; her nostrils flared as she took slow, deliberate breaths.

Suddenly, guilt threatened to crush Callie. She hadn't been oblivious to Arizona's emotional state over the past week; her obvious exhaustion, or the way her determinedly reassuring smiles were always laced with poorly disguised terror.

She'd also woken up a few times to hear Arizona crying quietly in the darkness, tears she didn't dare let Callie see during the day.

Callie had been afraid to ask for too much, too many details beyond the medicine, about the days she spent unconscious. Still, it didn't take a psych expert to discern that it had been hell on Arizona.

Still, Callie had let Arizona throw herself into caring for her, and Sofia, without really pushing to take care of her.

Gently disentangling their fingers, Callie lifted her hand and threaded it through Arizona's hair. "You know you can talk to me, right? You don't have to keep it together all the time. I want to know what you're feeling."

Arizona squeezed her eyes shut, her throat so tight it ached. If she had to say this out loud, with Callie looking at her with such unwavering love it stole her breath, she wouldn't be able to keep it together. Arizona didn't want to cry. She'd spent the last week trying desperately to be strong for her family.

It was such a stupid thing, the birth certificate, and obviously not a surprise. But somehow it had her fears brimming over, the fears that had been threatening to crush her all week, every time she held Callie's hand while she slept, or every time she looked down at her daughter, amazed how much she loved the tiny little girl already.

"If…if something happens..." It was no good; Arizona's voice faltered instantly, tears knotting along the column of her throat. "If something happens to you, if I _lose_ you…" Callie's fingers began to her hair gently, encouraging, and the gesture sent the first tears spilling down Arizona's cheeks. Exhaling slowly, Arizona continued to address the bed sheets, not trusting her ability to meet Callie's gaze without completely falling apart. "I wouldn't…I wouldn't be anything to Sof, not legally, and…I could…I could lose you _both_."

"You _never_ have to worry about that!" Callie said instantly, her voice intense. "First of all, nothing's going to happen to me-"

A skeptical sound, half laugh, half sob, burst from Arizona's throat. "You don't know that, Calliope, a week ago I th-thought…" Her voice cracked.

Her voice softening, Callie kept her eyes locked on Arizona's ducked head, as though the sheer intensity of her stare could make the blonde look up. "But I didn't. We're all okay. And, God forbid, if something were to happen, Mark would _never _keep you from your child-"

Arizona scoffed before she could stop herself, Mark's harsh, biting insistence that she was _nothing_ ringing in her ears.

The sound stopped Callie's rush of reassurances. "What?," she asked, uncertain. "I know you two have your issues, honey, but you can't seriously think he would do that, can you?"

Tightening her jaw and still avoiding eye contact, Arizona gritted out quietly, "If he doesn't think I'm really her mom-"

"But he knows you are!" Callie sounded slightly impatient now. "He knows, you've heard him all week, he's never said _anything_ to suggest you aren't."

Anger flared in Arizona's chest, instinctual, leftover anger, and she pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying something she shouldn't.

She hadn't wanted to be that person, _telling _on Mark to Callie, reporting something he'd said in a middle of a fight when they'd both been scared and exhausted and angry.

Besides, she'd said things, too, and Arizona suspected Mark wouldn't hesitate in pushing the blame. But she also suspected nothing _she'd_ said had haunted _Mark_ ever since.

Instead, though, she blurted out, "Sure, he admits it now. Now, a week after he watched me get Sofia's heart started in an OR. When we've been going back and forth between you and the NICU, and I've been observing her procedures and staying on Stark…of _course_ he's feeling that now."

Before she could stop herself, Arizona's gaze snapped to Callie's, and Callie's heart clenched at the expression on her fiancée's face. For the first time all week, Arizona's emotions weren't guarded. Her blue eyes were wide and wet and full of a raw terror that broke Callie's heart.

Arizona continued speaking, her voice shaking in spite of valiant efforts to control it. "But what happens when we take her home? When he starts wishing he had more time with her? When we start arguing over decisions? When Mark starts to feel a little resentful?" The words were coming in a rush, tripping over each other as all her fears and anxieties spilled out. "What if then he's not feeling so generous? What if he's not so happy with there being three parents? And what if…" Arizona's face twisted, her tears flowing freely now, and her voice fell to pieces. "…what if that's when something happens to you and he, he doesn't want my help with Sofia, and s-suddenly my whole family is just _gone_."

"Arizona…" Callie whispered, the name barely a breath. Arizona's tears had triggered her own, knotting in her throat and welling in her eyes, and all she could do was watch helplessly from the hospital bed as Arizona struggled to get the words out around gasping, hitching breaths.

"I love you," she choked out brokenly. "I love you so much, Calliope, I've never… when I thought I might lose you, I didn't know what I would do…and that scares the hell out of me. Just like it scares me how much I already love our little girl and knowing that…that all that could be gone…"

"Arizona," Callie repeated, her tone desperate now. She reached out, but Arizona had leaned away from the bed, just out of reach.

"It is all so _fragile_!" The words were wrenched from some deep, hidden place in Arizona's chest, and they shook with pain and fear. "Don't you get that? One second I'm proposing and then there's a truck and you're…you almost _died_, Callie. It happened so fast. And Sofia, no matter how much I, I love her, I'm _nothing." _Her voice caught, and Arizona's face crumpled, her throat so tight the words could barely get out. "I couldn't ev-even fight for her, I'd have n-nothing."

Callie's hand reached her then, touching Arizona's face and brushing the streaming tears away with infinite tenderness. "Hey…"

Arizona blinked through the tears, her eyes meeting Callie's, and it was as though something in her chest unfurled, unleashing some overwhelming burst of emotion. Her next words were lost beneath hard, shuddering sobs.

Wordlessly, oblivious to her own silent, streaming tears, Callie slid over in the bed as far as she could, away from Arizona. "I'm a little limited in mobility at the moment," Callie told her thickly. "Think you could help me out?"

Still crying in earnest, Arizona stood from her chair at Callie's bedside and climbed into the space Callie offered, gratefully curling against her as Arizona buried her face in Callie's flimsy hospital gown.

Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona as best she could; she felt twinges of pain, but her soreness paled in comparison to how it felt to watch Arizona break down.

For a long time, Callie simply held her, gently stroking her fingers through Arizona's hair, murmuring quiet, soothing strings of platitudes, and letting her cry.

"You're okay, you're alright….I'm right here, baby, I'm not going anywhere," Callie whispered, pressing her lips to Arizona's hair. "We're gonna be okay…promise…"

~(GA)~

That night, hours and hour after Arizona, exhausted and drained, had cried herself to sleep in Callie's arms, Mark stopped in to say goodnight.

"You sure you don't need me to stay?" he asked with a frown; it was his first night not spent in the NICU in several days.

"We'll be fine," Callie assured him for the probably the tenth time. "Arizona actually got some sleep this afternoon, so she's going to stay with Sof for a few hours."

Mark's eyebrows drew together, glancing from Callie around the otherwise empty hospital room. "I was just there, didn't see her."

"She's grabbing a shower in the locker room," Callie said, then hesitated. "Mark, can you sit for a second?"

He tensed instantly at the somber tone, but didn't question it as he sat in the chair closest to Callie's bed. "Everything okay?"

"_I'm_ fine," Callie said instantly. "Not sure about Arizona, though."

"What do you mean? Blondie's been a rock."

"She's been holding it together," Callie answered. She paused, then decided to be blunt. 'But it turns out….she's worried that you're not always going to consider her Sofia's mother. She's afraid that you might take her away if something ever happened to me." She leveled him with an intent gaze. "Any idea why she might think that?"

Mark's eyes narrowed, and he scrutinized Callie for a long moment before groaning quietly. "Jesus. She actually told you?"

Taken aback, Callie arched an eyebrow at her best friend. "Told me what?"

"I _apologized_. It was a fight, we were both freaked out…you know, she said stuff to me, too-"

"_Mark_," Callie practically growled, stopping his defenses immediately. "She didn't tell me anything about a fight."

He blinked at her, then flushed. "She, um…she didn't?"

"No. She didn't. But you're about to." When he didn't answer immediately, Callie reached out and grabbed his chin, forcibly making Mark look at her. "_What_ did you say to her?"

Mark closed his eyes briefly, trying to decide the best way to go about this. Finally, he went with the truth. "We were arguing about the surgery. About whether to deliver the baby beforehand or not and…I suggested, _in the heat of the moment_, that you and I could always have sex again if we needed to."

Callie groaned, rolling her eyes at his complete insensitivity. Still, she knew that wasn't it; it had nothing to do with Arizona's fear of Mark not seeing her as a parent. She waited.

An accusatory note slipping into his voice in spite of himself, Mark continued, "And she told me I was basically a sperm donor, because you two had the relationship." Callie winced, but her cold, 'I'm waiting' gaze didn't waver. "And I, um.."

"You, um, what?" Callie demanded.

Mark dragged his gaze away and muttered, "I told her she was nothing."

Callie stared at him. "_What_?" When Mark offered nothing more, Callie pressed, in a dangerously low voice, "You used _those words_?"

He grimaced. "Yeah, okay, I did. I'm not proud of it, I just…"

"_How could you say that_?" Callie demanded, her voice tight with anger. She realized that Arizona, during her breakdown earlier, had actually parroted Mark's words. Her chest constricted, hot tears of anger welling in her dark eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you, Mark? That's not okay!"

Scowling, Mark's eyes flashed from contrite to defiant. "I apologized, okay? And it wasn't just me, she called me a _sperm donor_."

"Which you clearly aren't," Callie snarled. "We'd never ask you to relinquish your parental rights, Mark. There's no question. But for Arizona…God, don't you get it? That's _exactly_ what she's been afraid of. And you thinking something like that _matters_, Mark!"

"I apologized," Mark repeated, though he sounded slightly chastened. "And I don't think that."

"Are you sure?" Callie narrowed her eyes. "Or are you going to throw it in her face every time there's a disagreement about _anything_ over the next eighteen years? Are you going to go around reminding our _daughter_ that Arizona's not her real parent every time you want your way?"

Mark's anger was back now, and he actually pushed back from the chair, looming over Callie's bed. "Are you kidding? I would _never_-"

"Yeah? Well I'm not sure," Callie retorted heatedly. "And neither is Arizona. And she's terrified."

For a moment, there was silence, a sharp contrast to their yelling. Callie exhaled shakily, closing her eyes for a moment to calm down. When she spoke again, her voice was low and calm, words chosen very deliberately. "Mark. Arizona is in this. She's Sofia's mom, period. That is something you need to _get_."

"I _do_ get tha-"

Callie continued as though he hadn't spoken, "And you need to accept it as _fact_. You don't get to change your mind. You don't get to put her role in some kind of mental quotation marks. You don't get to question it. Not ever." She waited until his eyes were locked on hers, and when Callie continued, it was clear her words were a contract. "Do you get that?"

Mark was quiet for a long moment, his expression completely serious. Finally, he nodded once. "Yes."

"_Really_?"

"Really." Mark swallowed. "I get it, Callie. I never really thought about…her being afraid. But I get it. And I don't…I don't _want_ to make Robbins feel like that. I swear."

The pressure loosening in her chest, Callie nodded. "Good. You better not."

"I won't."

"And I'm going to talk a lawyer, when Sof's all better. I'm going to figure out what steps I can take, what I have to make you sign…anything to try to make sure Arizona doesn't have to worry about losing her daughter if something happens to me."

"Callie, I just told you-"

"I know," she interjected calmly. "But Arizona has no reason to trust you right now. And I'm sure you can prove it, Mark, but I don't want to have to wait around for her to stop being scared. And I don't even know if there's anything I can do about, but I at least owe it to her to try."

~(GA)~

"How is she?" Callie murmured sleepily when Arizona had reentered her hospital room and leaned over to softly kiss Callie's hairline.

"Oops," Arizona whispered from above her. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay, I was waiting for you." Callie rolled over, turning the light above her bed onto the dimmest setting. "How is she?"

"She's good," Arizona said, a tired smile on her face. "Sleeping now, actually. Hope the pattern continues when we take her home."

"Home," Callie repeated, a little wistfully. Then, she lifted her eyes to Arizona, gazing at her imploringly. "And how are _you_?"

Instantly, Arizona's eyes flitted away. "I'm fine. I'm sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have…I kind of lost it."

Hand coming up to cup Arizona's cheek, Callie told her firmly, "You don't have to apologize, Arizona. You're allowed to fall apart sometimes, too, you know. I'm just sorry I let it get to that point-"

"Calliope, you're the one in the hospital-"

"And you're the one who's been right here, taking care of me, taking care of our daughter, and _worrying_," Callie reminded her gently. "I hope you know how much I appreciate it. I wouldn't have…I wouldn't have made it through this last week if you weren't right here with me…" Her voice caught. "I love you so much, Arizona, and I really, really hope you know that."

Throat narrowing, Arizona blinked hard against threatening tears. "I do. And I love you, too." She leaned forward, her lips capturing Callie's in a soft, lingering kiss.

Just as they gently disengaged, Callie murmured against Arizona's lips, "You're everything."

"What?"

Callie brushed a stray piece of hair away from Arizona's eyes. "You're not nothing," she said in a quiet, significant voice. "You're _everything._ To me, and to Sofia, you're…you're everything." There was a slight panic in Arizona's eyes, as though she was trying to figure out if Callie was merely addressing her words from earlier. "I talked to Mark."

Arizona's eyes widened. "I wasn't going to tell-"

"I know. But I got it out of him, and…if it wasn't for this damn hospital bed I would have kicked his pretty boy ass."

Arizona smiled, but her lower lip was trembling.

"It's not true," Callie continued. "He's wrong. And I made sure he knows it. He'll never say that again, okay? I'm not going to let him use that every time he's angry at you, and I made sure he gets that."

Feeling a tension she hadn't been fully aware of drain from her body, Arizona nearly sagged against the hospital bed. She tipped her forehead against Callie's and breathed, "Thank you."

"And listen," Callie said in a hushed voice, lifting a hand to cradle Arizona's head. "I don't know what my options are, really, but…I'm going to find out if there are any steps I can take to make sure he doesn't get to take her away from if something ever happens to me."

"Callie-"

"I know, there may be nothing I can do. It may be just getting Mark to sign something that has no real legal binding but…we're going to find out, okay? For the record, I don't think he'd try to do that. I've made myself pretty clear, but I know you have no reason to trust him. I get that. So maybe you can trust me that I will _not_ let that happen?"

"Always," Arizona replied, her voice thick, just before her lips covered Callie's again, fervently, all her love and gratitude poured into the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, Callie slid over in the hospital bed. "Any chance you'd forgo the cot tonight?" she asked, a smile in her voice, indicating the folded cot that had been brought into the hospital room for Arizona.

"It's going to be a tight fit." Arizona replied, though the smile on her face already told Callie she'd agree. "Can you sleep that way?"

"Best way I know," Callie told her honestly.

With no further encouragement, Arizona climbed into the small bed beside Callie, wrapping her arms around her fiancée, lacing their fingers together over Callie's chest.

"I love you," she murmured, her breath warm against Callie's ear.

"Love you, too," came the reply, immediate.

Then, wrapped together, they slept.


End file.
